A Measure of Blood Read Free Page A

okay.”
    Christie looked to Colleen Greer with a silent question: Am I gentle enough?
    â€œAre you hanging in there all right?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œOkay. You said a man came into your apartment this morning? Did you see him come in?”
    â€œNo. I was in my room.”
    â€œHow did you know someone was there?”
    â€œI could hear voices a little bit.”
    â€œAh, good, okay. Is that when you came out of your room?”
    â€œNo. I was just playing a game on my TV. I didn’t know anything was wrong.”
    â€œYou kept playing? A video game?”
    The boy winced and looked down. “Yes,” he said in a low voice.
    â€œWell, that’s okay. You didn’t know anything was wrong. Did you see the man later?”
    â€œNo. Well, I saw him just like from the back. My mother was yelling at me. She said to leave, run, and so I did.”
    â€œYou were afraid of him?”
    He hesitated. “I guess.”
    â€œDid you hear what he was saying?”
    â€œNo. But … he bothered my mother before. So I think it was the same thing.”
    â€œYou saw him before?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou’re sure it was the same guy?”
    â€œI think so.”
    â€œHow many times before?”
    â€œUm … one time is all I know.”
    â€œIs that why you told Detective Greer the man said he was your father? Because that’s what he said the other time?”
    Matthew nodded.
    â€œDo you know who he is? His name?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œDo you remember when that was? That you saw him?”
    â€œAt the grocery store. He yelled at my mom.”
    â€œWhen? Can you remember?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œLong ago?”
    â€œIt was … it was nice weather out.”
    â€œThis summer maybe?”
    â€œI think I still had school.”
    â€œJune?” He looked up at Greer. Some guesswork needed here. “What did this man say exactly? Can you remember?”
    â€œStuff like why didn’t she tell him and he had a right to see me because I was his son.”
    â€œWas he angry when he said it?”
    â€œUm … yeah, I guess.”
    â€œTell me. Angry and what? Something else?”
    â€œSurprised, like.”
    â€œSurprised. Was he looking for you, waiting for your mother, or was it—do you think it was an accidental meeting?”
    Before he could revise the question, Matt answered, “He was surprised. Like shocked.”
    â€œDid your mom ever talk about him before?”
    â€œNo. Only after. She said he wasn’t my father.”
    â€œCan you think of anything else?”
    â€œShe told him to do math.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Christie looked at Colleen. “Anything else?”
    â€œShe told him I wasn’t even eight years old.”
    â€œUh-huh. You seem to have a very good memory. Anything else that could help us?”
    Matt shook his head. But then he said, “I think he had a reddish car. Dark red. I think it’s called maroon.”
    â€œHe was in a car? Driving?”
    â€œHe was leaning on it.”
    â€œDid you ever see him in the car?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhere did all this happen?”
    â€œAt the store.”
    â€œDo you happen to remember which store?” Christie saw suddenly that the boy was trying not to cry. “You’re doing really well. You’re helping us a lot. Do you want to take a break?”
    â€œNo. It was a grocery store. A big one. It’s called … it’s something fancier than our Giant Eagle here—”
    â€œWhole Foods?” Colleen interrupted.
    â€œNo. The next one near it.”
    â€œMarket District,” she said calmly.
    Matthew’s face registered that that was correct.
    Christie asked, “You never saw this man before or after?”
    Matthew shook his head.
    â€œCan you tell me what happened this morning? After you ran out?”
    â€œI only ran out because my mother